


Preston's Party

by Reecey



Series: Reecey's Fluffy Fallout Highschool AU [1]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Young Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-24
Updated: 2017-06-24
Packaged: 2018-11-18 09:24:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11288382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reecey/pseuds/Reecey
Summary: Sturges has just moved to town, and he thinks he might have a crush on the cute girl he sits next to in English. When she invites him to be her plus one to her little brother's party, he jumps on the chance.





	Preston's Party

Sturges  _ liked  _ Lottie, they’d hit it off from the moment they’d met, him being seated next to her at the back of Mrs Murphy’s English class half way through Freshman year.

 

She told him not to worry about the strange, dreamy eyed expression that their teacher always had. She was on medication for something, and one of the side effects was this.

 

“It pays off though, she’s quick as anything. May as well be psychic.”

 

“Are you sharing my secrets with the world again, Charlotte?”

 

“Don’t want the new boy to worry is all, Ma’am.”

 

“Well, don’t go sharing any more. I like to keep up my air of mystery.”

 

“Yes Ma’am!”

 

Sturges liked Lottie a lot, he thought he might be a little in love with her after shop class when she grinned like a maniac at him when he said he liked her birdhouse.

 

“It’s a gift for my little brother, he likes birds you see, aaaand, it’s his birthday next week. His parents are throwing him a party, I can’t wait to see the look on his face when he opens this.”

 

“Wait, I thought you said he was your brother?”

 

She waved one hand in the air, like she was batting away a fly.

 

“Only in the most  _ important way possible _ .”

 

Sturges grinned.

 

“I getcha.”

 

“Tell ya what, he’s only a year younger than us, you win me over by next Saturday and you can be my plus one. It’ll be a good opportunity to make friends.”

 

She liked him back, and wasn’t that just the greatest stroke of luck he’d ever had.

 

“I’ll do my level best,” he’d told her, “so you’d better tell me what kind of thing I can get him for a gift.”

 

“That’s not a bad start,” she’d grinned.

 

He’d bought a bag of birdseed from a local pet shop, a ‘companion’ present, Lottie had called it.

 

Made sense to him, and it didn’t hurt that it sort of made him feel like they were giving gifts as a couple already.

 

Yeah, he was a romantic. He got teased for it a hell of a lot back in his old school, while he pined after the head cheerleader.

 

Still, the curly red hair, pink cheeks, freckles and bright green eyes made his heart flutter, especially when she smiled.

 

Her being a committed tomboy really helped too, especially with the cute girly nickname like Lottie.

 

What could he say? He was a sucker for contrast.

 

He spent the next week and a half showing off the better aspects of his personality.

 

Being handy, being charming, being gentlemanly, lifting heavy things…

 

It seemed to be paying off.

 

“Okay,” she’d said on the Friday, “where’d you wanna meet?”

 

“For the party?” he’d asked, slightly confused.

 

“Well, duh,” she’d replied, “I was pretty much decided on bringing you after you asked for present ideas. The rest of it was just a formality really, since this is Preston I’m gonna be introducing you too. Can’t cut corners when it comes to him.”

 

“No doubt,” Sturges had grinned back.

 

She’d shown him photos of the two of them on her phone. Heck, one of them was her background.

 

A shot of the two of them, a couple of years younger, in matching t-shirts in front of a ostrich at a zoo.

 

They had their arms around each other, free hands making peace signs.

 

There was a lot of love there, she looked so unguarded in all the pictures with Preston, so comfortable.

 

It made Sturges nervous about maybe going to the party, what if Preston didn’t like him?

 

“So, where do you want to meet?”

 

“Uh, where’s his house?”

 

“Sanctuary Hill Street.”

 

Sturges let out a low whistle, “nice part of town.”

 

“Pretty nice, yeah. Is it too far for you?”

 

“I’ll be fine.”

 

“Great, ‘cause I’m next door. Come to my house at nine thirty.”

 

He gave her a little salute.

 

“Sure thing, Lottie.”

 

\---

 

Strictly speaking, they were half an hour early, but Lottie wanted to introduce him to the birthday boy before it got too loud and hectic.

 

He’d decided to wear jeans, a tshirt and leather jacket. A James Dean sort of cool was what he was going for.

 

“You look nice,” Lottie said as she walked him over to the house next door, “very classic.”

 

“Aw, shucks.”

 

They inadvertently matched.

 

She’d gone for a classic 1950s look, with a poodle skirt and white blouse.

 

He thought she looked really cute, but he was kind of scared of saying so. He didn’t want to make her feel weird because she wasn’t dressing to type.

 

“You look good,” was about as far as he was willing to go.

 

“Thanks,” she’d smiled, looking radiant and making his heart skip a beat.

 

Yeah, if this party went well, he was definitely asking her out on a date.

 

The front door of Preston’s house was opened by a beautiful woman in a bright yellow dress. Her hair, in dreads, was piled on top of her head in a large bun.

 

If he wasn’t such a gentleman, the word MILF, might have crossed his mind.

 

“Lottie! You’re early,” she exclaimed, “and you’ve brought your guest. Hello, you must be Sturges.”

 

She held out a hand that he took and gave a friendly shake.

 

“Sure am, Mrs Garvey!”

 

She beamed.

 

“Come on in you two, Preston is deciding on whether or not to wear a tie, but once I tell him you’re here, he’ll probably decide against it.”

 

She took them inside and sat them on the sofa, heading down the hallway and poking her head around what Sturges guessed was the door to Preston’s room.

 

He shuffled around in his seat as Mrs Garvey returned.

 

“He’ll only be a moment.”

 

“Where’s Uncle D?” Lottie asked, as Mrs Garvey took their presents and added them to a modest pile.

 

“He’s out getting another crate or two of Vim. He was worried that we wouldn’t have enough.”

 

Lottie laughed.

 

“That’s always Uncle Dewey,” she grinned, “the perfect boy scout.”

 

Mrs Garvey chuckled too.

 

“Speaking of Vim, would you two like something to drink?”

 

“Yes please!”

 

Mrs Garvey looked at him next, clearly already knowing Lottie’s preference.

 

“Uh, well, I’ve never had Vim before. I guess I could try one of them?”

 

She nodded, and he felt like he’d passed some sort of test.

 

She headed into the kitchen area. He watched her go, thinking that Preston had a really pretty Mom.

 

“Oh my god, Pres’, you look so cute!”

 

Lottie leapt up from her seat and was fussing at a boy slightly shorter than her, obscuring him from view.

 

Sturges stood up awkwardly.

 

This was the moment of truth.

 

“I wasn’t going for cute, I was going for ‘dapper’.”

 

“Dapper can also be cute, besides, I’m biased and you know it.”

 

“Yeah, I do.”

 

“Anyway, here’s the guy I was telling you about. Preston, this is Sturges.”

 

Lottie stood to one side and Sturges felt his eyes widen.

 

Those pictures were all old, he’d filled out a bit since then, going from ‘scrawny’ to ‘lithe’.

 

He was also losing the baby weight around his face, showing off that he’d inherited his Mom’s cheekbones.

 

He was still cute, though. But less in a ‘Lottie’s adorable little brother’ way, and in more of a ‘I want to wrap my arms around him and see what he looks like when he-.

 

Sturges stopped that train of thought right there.

 

He was a gentleman, dammit.

 

He plastered a smile onto his face and turned up the charm.

 

“Nice to meet you, buddy,” he greeted, holding out his hand.

 

Preston’s pretty smile turned a little strained as he shook Sturges’ hand.

 

_ Oh shit, I fucked up, I fucked up _ , ran through his head in a chant as Preston replied.

 

“You too.”

 

Sturges put his hands in his pockets awkwardly.

 

“Thanks for letting me bring him to your party.”

 

Preston waved her thanks away, “it’s no problem Lottie, any friend of yours is a friend of mine. Besides, you know me, always ready and willing with a helping hand.”

 

“At a minute’s notice,” she continued, like it was some kind of joke between the two of them.

 

Preston grinned at her, and Sturges almost audibly sighed in relief.

 

He hadn’t messed up at all, it was just that Preston had a crush on Lottie. No harm, no foul.

 

Mrs Garvey walked up to them carrying a tray with three ice cold Vims on it. One with a straw, one without, and one with a slice of lime slipped inside like it was a bottle of Corona.

 

Preston took the one with the straw, and Lottie the one with the lime, leaving Sturges with the plain Vim experience to enjoy for the first time.

 

He took it and all three of them watched him expectantly.

 

He smiled weakly before taking a sip.

 

“Damn, that’s really good,” he said after draining half the bottle.

 

Mrs Garvey was radiant, “I’ll overlook the language this time, Sturges, I’m glad you like it.”

 

“I’m glad Mr Garvey’s going to get some more. I might end up drinking you out of house and home.”

 

She batted at his shoulder and he knew he’d won her over.

 

“I’ve got a few more things I need to arrange before the party, so I’ll leave you kids to talk.”

 

Sturges lifted his bottle in a tiny toast and Mrs Garvey headed back into the kitchen with a broad smile.

 

He turned back to Preston and Lottie, his big genuine grin still on his face.

 

“Y’all up here in New England have been holding out on the rest of us.”

 

Lottie was fanning herself with one hand.

 

“Ooh, Sturges, you look like a Nuka-Diet ad.”

 

He flushed and coughed into the back of his hand, glancing at Preston to gauge his reaction.

 

The kid was looking at his neck with an odd intensity. He couldn’t really tell if he thought it looked nice, or wanted to strangle him.

 

“You just live to make boys blush, don’tcha?”

 

“What can I say? It’s a lot of fun!”

 

Preston turned his gaze to her and rolled his eyes.

 

“You’ll get used to it. Eventually.”

 

Lottie pouted, “I don’t  _ try _ to make you blush, Pres’. You really are just the cutest thing.”

 

“Yeah, but a fella don’t want to hear that he’s cute. Especially when he’s dressed up as handsome as this.”

 

It came out naturally, without even a second thought.

 

Preston was wearing slacks with a long sleeved dress shirt, matching waist coat and a burgundy bow tie.

 

Over dressed for a Happy Fourteenth, maybe, but it was still a striking image.

 

Lottie and Preston stared at him with twin looks of absolute shock.

 

If Mr Garvey hadn’t come back that minute, Sturges thought he was going to burst into flame.

 

“Honey,” he called from the door, “I need a hand, I think I went overboard.”

 

Before his wife could even answer, Sturges hurriedly offered his services.

 

“I could help ya out, Mr Garvey.”

 

“Oh, sure thing. Never mind honey, this young man’s going to help me.”

 

“Thank you, Sturges, you’re a real life saver.”

 

“No problem, Ma’am,” he replied quickly, ducking out of the door to help Mr Garvey unpack his car.

 

He could see where Preston got his sense of style from. His Dad was in a full three piece suit with a bow tie and fedora. Clean cut, but with a hint of swagger to it.

 

Old-School Caribbean Cool, his mamma called it.

 

“So, you’re Lottie’s plus one,” Mr Garvey said conversationally. There was a hint of a Jamaican accent there, but watered down enough to tell Sturges that he’d been living in New England for a long, long time.

 

“Sure am, Sir.”

 

He nodded, “I was kinda worried, but you seem like a nice kid.”

 

“I try to be, Sir.”

 

Mr Garvey smiled at him, and it was obvious where Preston got it from.

 

“So, where’s the heavy lifting?” Sturges asked bashfully.

 

Mr Garvey opened the trunk and there were five cases of Vim.

 

Sturges let out a low whistle.

 

“Yeah, I know it’s a lot. How many do you think you can carry?”

 

“Reckon I can do three easy. Four might be pushing it though.”

 

Mr Garvey looked impressed.

 

“Okay, you take three and I’ll follow with the other two.”

 

Sturges nodded and between the two of them they got three of the crates into his arms.

 

“Actually, this ain’t so bad. I could probably take another one.”

 

“You need to see where you’re going, son.”

 

“Yeah, hadn’t thought of that.”

 

Mr Garvey chuckled and sent him inside.

 

Carrying thirty six bottles distracted him enough to not glance at where Lottie and Preston were sitting on one of the sofas, chatting between themselves.

 

He didn’t notice them looking at him.

 

“Here you go, Ma’am,” Sturges said, “where do you want them?”

 

“Over on that counter is great.”

 

He set them down.

 

“I must say I’m impressed, three crates by yourself? You must be very strong.”

 

“Aw, shucks, Ma’am. It wasn’t any trouble.”

 

“You go sit down with Preston and Lottie and charm people your own age.”

 

“Yes Ma’am,” he saluted, heading back into the living room.

 

He  _ liked _ the Garveys and it had cheered him up enough to forget his embarrassment.

 

It came back when he realised that in order to sit near them, he was going to have to sit next to Preston.

 

He didn’t so much sit as perch next to him.

 

Preston handed him his half empty bottle of Vim, and he finished it off.

 

That intense look at his neck came back and Sturges had to fight a blush.

 

“So, uh, who else is coming to this party?” he asked, putting his now empty bottle onto one of the coasters declaring that Maine had great crab.

 

“Some of my classmates, some old friends of mine and Lottie’s, too.”

 

“Great, can’t wait to meet them,” he beamed.

 

The second other people arrived he could find a corner and try and calm down.

 

He felt stupid worrying that Preston wouldn’t like him now, his bigger problem was that he was perving on Lottie’s precious little brother and the kid might like him back.

 

That’s not what she brought him here for, and if she got mad at him, he didn’t know what he would do.

 

He’d probably never had a better friend.

 

Lottie took control of the conversation, mentioning who was who in their little group and how they knew each other.

 

Once these people started showing up, it became a whirl of ‘Happy Birthday’s and hugs for Preston and a lot of introductions for Sturges.

 

There were Jun and Marcy, they were older than Lottie, but had known her and Preston since elementary. They were one of those couples you hear about in myths and legends, declared they were going to get married in third grade and were still together and clearly in love all these years later.

 

Bobby, a kid in Preston’s class that Lottie helped with some bullies once and had stuck around ever since. He’d brought his girlfriend, Lucy, with him.

 

Piper, intrepid middle school reporter and seemingly mostly Preston’s friend. She did have a tendency to call Lottie ‘Blue’, though, and Sturges had no idea why.

 

Some guy named Strong, who lived up to his name with huge muscles. It wasn’t clear how old he was and Sturges didn’t feel like asking.

 

A guy who was just introduced as ‘X6’, a girl everyone called Curie, a set of twins named Vadim and Yefim and a handful of other colourful characters aged from twelve all the way up to nineteen.

 

It was dizzying exactly how diverse this group of friends was.

 

Somehow, though, he seemed to slot in like he’d never not been there.

 

He didn’t have a chance to slip out into the back yard for a breather until Vadim challenged Strong to an arm wrestling match and everyone started placing bets or trying to get them to stop.

 

Mrs Garvey was offering to officiate, and Mr Garvey just seemed to find the whole thing amusing.

 

It was cool in their backyard, and Sturges could take in a nice deep breath of fresh air. In moments like this, he missed the warmth of his home town.

 

Didn’t miss the nosy neighbours and antagonistic storekeepers though, he thought with a chuckle.

 

“Everything okay?”

 

He looked up and Lottie was standing by the door.

 

“Oh, yeah, just needed a breather is all.”

 

“Makes sense, the guys can be pretty overwhelming sometimes. We don’t often get the chance to all hang out like this.”

 

Sturges nodded and she leaned back on the wall next to him.

 

Out here, just the two of them, it all seemed much calmer. More intimate.

 

“Hey, Lottie?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Do you, er, do you believe in love at first sight?”

 

She smiled, and although it didn’t make his heart flutter this time, it did make it feel warm and cozy.

 

“Yeah, I do. It’s rare though.”

 

“Yeah, me too.”

 

He looked out into the meticulously beautiful garden.

 

“Would you… would you get mad if I said I might have a crush on Preston?”

 

“Nope. Already figured that out.”

 

Sturges winced.

 

“It’s fine, just… don’t expect me to take sides. You’ll never win, y’know?”

 

He looked back at her, and she was smiling at him.

 

“You sure you’re okay with it?”

 

“As sure as there’s a sun in the sky. Besides, it’s not like he’s against the idea or anything. You notice how he was staring at your neck earlier?”

 

Sturges blushed.

 

“Hard not to.”

 

“Let him put a hickey on it and I think you’ll make his day.”

 

Sturges turned even redder.

 

Lottie just laughed, “come back in, it’s time for cake and presents.”

 

With a ducked head, he followed her back inside.

 

“There you two are,” Mr Garvey said with a bright smile, “Preston was wondering where you’d gone.”

 

“Sorry sir,” Sturges replied bashfully, “just needed a breath of fresh air.”

 

“Ah, that’s fine. Just come on over, Preston won’t blow out his candles without you two there.”

 

He shepherded them over to the table with the cake on it.

 

Preston beamed when he saw them.

 

The rest of the party was kind of a blur after the presents were all opened, and Lottie was right about Preston loving the bird house, and soon enough, the other guests started to trickle away.

 

Mr. Garvey offered to take Sturges back home himself, so he got to stay later than everyone else.

 

Stuffed full of cake and snacks, and feeling like his veins now ran with Vim instead of blood, he sprawled on the couch in a happy stupor.

 

“I’m all partied out,” Lottie mumbled into her arms, laying on the rest of the sofa with one shin haphazardly balanced on Sturges’ knee.

 

He hummed in agreement.

 

Mrs Garvey chuckled as she cleaned up around them.

 

“That means that you must have had a good time then,” she said brightly.

 

Lottie grumbled and sat up, “lemme help you with that, Auntie L.”

 

“No, no, you’re a guest today Lottie. If you want to help with the clean up, come back tomorrow.”

 

Lottie let out a groan and slumped back into her original position.

 

“You’re the hostess with the mostest,” she grumbled.

 

“It’s what I want on my gravestone,” Mrs Garvey replied cheerfully, putting some paper plates into a trash bag.

 

“By the way, Sturges, Dewey wants to drive you home soon, so you should probably use the bathroom first.”

 

Sturges lazily saluted and dragged himself to the feet.

 

“I wanna go too,” he could hear Lottie say as he wandered down the hallway.

 

“He’s gone to tell your parents about it, I’m sure Mr and Mrs Sturges will be more comfortable that way.”

 

He shut the bathroom door behind him and the rest of their conversation was blocked out.

 

He didn’t take long in there, after a few minutes he walked out with a stretch.

 

“Hey,” Preston said, leaning on his door frame.

 

Sturges startled a little.

 

“Oh, hey Pres’.”

 

Preston smiled at the nickname, and Sturges could see that he’d undone his bow tie since he’d started putting presents away.

 

He unconsciously swallowed.

 

His pa joked once that whenever a man in a movie had an undone bowtie on it meant he was getting laid.

 

“You going home soon?”

 

“‘Fraid so.”

 

Preston pouted, he honest to god  _ pouted _ .

 

It was adorable.

 

“You need somethin’?” Sturges asked, not being able to help smiling.

 

“Yeah, just wanted to show you something.”

 

“Well, Lottie’s gotta use the bathroom and your Dad needs to come back before we can leave, so it’s not like there’s  _ no _ time.”

 

“Great,” Preston beamed, taking him by the wrist and tugging him into his room, shutting the door behind them.

 

“So, uh, what did you wanna show me?”

 

Preston lifted his hand and placed it on Sturges’ cheek.

 

It felt like his heart stopped as he looked into those big brown eyes.

 

“I actually wanted to ask you something.”

 

Sturges swallowed again.

 

“S-sure, fire away.”

 

“I was wondering if, you know…” 

 

_ What a time for him to come over all bashful _ , Sturges thought.

 

“Well, I know we’ve only just met, but… would you go out on a date with me?”

 

Sturges nodded rapidly.

 

The smile on Preston’s face took his breath away.

 

He unconsciously leaned in.

 

“I’ve got another question,” Preston murmured, eyes on Sturges’ mouth.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“What’s your first name?”

 

“Jack.”

 

Preston leaned up and closed the gap.

 

It wasn’t a long kiss, just a short press of dry lips, but it was still like heaven to Sturges.

 

“Thanks for coming to my party, Jack.”

 

“Pleasure’s all mine.”

**Author's Note:**

> Latonya Garvey is from Maine.
> 
> ... No, YOU forgot that Vim is a Maine thing in the Fallout universe.


End file.
